The Private Equity arms of Investec Asset Management and RMB Ventures have acquired a 72 percent stake in Kamoso Distributor (Pty) Ltd, an umbrella company to ten companies that distributes to Choppies Enterprises.

Kamoso Distributor, a Botswana-based retailer and consumer goods company, was acquired by a consortium that includes Investec Asset Management Private Equity, RMB Ventures, some local investors as well as Kamoso’s senior management team.
The company is a leading manufacturer and supplier of consumer goods and healthcare products to retailers in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, primarily in Choppies operating sphere of influence. The Company operates from facilities in Botswana and South Africa. Kamoso also operates Liquorama, Botswana’s leading liquor retailer, and Builders Mart, a leading DIY and hardware chain.

The acquisition of 72 percent of the entire issued share capital in Kamoso Distribution (Pty) Ltd was done by Newshelf and IRK, from Standard Chartered Private Equity (Mauritius) III Ltd (SCPE) and Development Capital Partners, LLC (DCP).
According to documents filed with the Competition Authority, Newshelf, a South Africa company controlled by RMB Ventures Seven (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of RMB Private (Pty) Ltd, is an indirect subsidiary of FirstRand Investment the holding company of the FirstRand Group. FirstRand Group operates through a portfolio of business franchises, namely RMB, First National Bank and WesBank.

The other acquiring enterprise, IRK, is based in Mauritius, and is controlled by Investec Africa Private Equity Fund 2 LP (Investec Africa Fund) and by Newshelf (the other acquiring enterprise). Investec Africa Fund (the equity investments company) is ultimately controlled by Investec Asset Management (IAM) [a significant component and independently managed entity within the Investec group] which, in turn, is ultimately controlled by Investec (comprising Investec Plc and Investec Ltd) (Investec), a dual listed international, specialist bank and asset manager.

The target enterprise, Kamoso, is a diversified holding company incorporated in Botswana, and was controlled by the private equity arm of Standard Chartered Plc.
The complex legal connections between the companies, according to regulatory notices reveals that the other non-controlling shareholder in Kamoso, DCP, also sold its stake. DCP is an investment management company registered in Mauritius, with an exclusive focus on frontier and emerging markets. The firm’s primary strategy is to make long-term investments in a concentrated portfolio of businesses operating in Africa.

Kamoso distributes products and renders services throughout Botswana through its subsidiaries which comprise of the following, Liquorama, a liquor distributor and retailer with 46 stores across the country, offering a selection of wines, beers and spirits. Another subsidiary is Builder’s Mart, which retails a range of building materials, hardware and electrical products through its 18 retail stores.

Keriotic Investments (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Kamoso is engaged in distributing various commodities from food to non-food products, as well as packaging materials to retailers. Mediland Healthcare Distributors (Pty) Ltd, specialises in importing and distributing medical health care products and equipment to private hospitals and the government of Botswana.

Honeyguide (Pty) Ltd, is involved in milling and packaging of sorghum and maize and producing mixed fowl feeds. ILO Industries (Pty) Ltd, is engaged in the processing and packaging of rice, samp, beans, spices, flour, pulses, soups and dried fruit. RBV Consultants (Pty) Ltd and RBV Marketing (Pty) Ltd, are involved in the manufacturing and distribution of tissue paper. Real Plastic Mould (Pty) Ltd, is involved in the production of bottled water, plastic cutlery and crockery, detergent and plastic pre-form while Mont Catering and Refrigeration (Pty) Ltd, is involved in the import and supply of air-conditions, fridges and spare parts and catering equipment. All the above companies, which were distibutors to Choppies, were subsidiaries of Kamoso.

Kamoso was formed in 2015 as part of an investment by Development Capital Partners, a New York investment firm and Standard Chartered Private Equity.
Kamoso was mostly a supplier to Botswana’s largest budget retail chain, Choppies Enterprises, before StanChart PE and New York investment firm Development Capital Partners (DCP) bought a 72 percent stake in 2015 and expanded operations.

Stanchart PE and DCP bought the stake in Kamoso in a deal that was reported to be worth P452 million ($43.35 million) from Choppies’ biggest shareholders, Ramachandran Ottapathu and Farouk Ismail. The Choppies directors sold Kamoso in a quest to improve corporate governance and avoid conflict of interests by owning a company that supplies to Choppies. Both the PE and DCP have now sold substantial portions of their shareholdings though Stanchart PE retains a 13 percent shareholding in Choppies, reportedly bought at a price of around P600 million in 2014.

Announcing the new venture this week in a statement, Derrick Soanes, Kamoso’s Chief Executive, said, “We are happy to have concluded this transaction, and to welcome RMB Ventures and Investec Asset Management as our new shareholders. We have big plans for regional expansion, and the team and I are excited to be building this company alongside such strong and respected financial partners.”

Peter Baird, head of African Private Equity at Investec Asset Management, noted that, “Kamoso has a long track record of supplying top quality products at the best prices. It has built a strong business on providing value for money, including in its retail offerings. In partnership with RMB Ventures and management, we plan to build a regional champion from our strong base in Botswana.”

RMB Ventures co-head Andrew Aitken reiterated the views “Kamoso exhibits many of the elements of a very successful investment – a passionate and dedicated management team, market leading products, and deep and long-standing customer relationships. We are particularly excited about our first investment in Botswana, and we hope to provide impetus to the economy through our plans to significantly grow Kamoso’s franchises.”

Property titan, Turnstar Holdings Limited may soon be engaged in a tussle with the Tanzania Revenue Authority over claims of withheld tax, the company has announced in its latest annual report.

Turnstar, the owners of Botswana’s largest shopping mall – Game City – announced that the Tanzanian revenue authorities have issued withholding tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) assessments, totalling almost US $ 1.8million (An equivalent of P18.7 million).

“These assessments have been objected to, and will be defended in terms of the Tax legislation,” Turnstar said in a statement signed by group Chairman Patrick Balopi and Managing Director (MD) Gulaam Abdoola.

The duo did not give any further details as to why the Tanzania Revenue Authority would assess their liability in such a high amount. Dar es Salaam is Turnstar’s pot of gold, through its Mlimani City complex, holding the company’s largest asset by value.
Turnstar acquired Mlimani City in 2011 in a transaction valued at US$77 million (around P800 million).

The property consists of a shopping centre with lettable space in excess of 18,794m2. The shopping centre is Tanzania’s first indoor air conditioned mall and home to notable South Africa retail giants like Shoprite and Mr Price. The investment company views this prime space as not only sustainable but as an unmatched investment, as it carters not only for the city of Dar es Salaam but also the surrounding towns.

In addition to Mlimani City, Turnstar also has a fully let office park consisting of four double-storey A-grade buildings, with a let space of plus or minus 11,308m2. The properties also include a conference centre with a full range of facilities and amenities which played host to the African leg of the World Economic Forum. The property development has a residential housing estate with 50 units.

Turnstar aims to have access to 75000m2 of undeveloped land for future use. The company believes this latest acquisition will enable them to benefit from the booming Tanzanian economy and widen its future investment and future earnings.
Despite tough market conditions, the Group recorded a profit from operations of P 63million, for the half year ended 31 July 2017. This is an increase of 2.3 percent in comparison to the corresponding half year ended 31 July 2016, and is mainly attributable to the 4.5 percent increase in Group rental revenues. Group investment properties increased to P 2.3 billion, due to the additions and developments at Game City and Mlimani City.

The Mlimani City expansion is estimated to have cost $45million (Just under half a billion) and will generate an attractive development yield of 13 percent in addition to net asset value uplift going forward.

The developments to the mall include the addition of 15,997 square metres of new retail office and 420 square metres of conference space, up to 342 bays of basement parking and a hotel. A botanical garden has also been developed to complete the attraction of the Mlimani City node.

Turnstar also invested P250 million on the refurbishment and expansion of the Game City Mall, which is expected to enhance the quality of Turnstar’s property portfolio as well as its underlying net asset value. Both Mlimani and Game City expansions have been completed.

The development was funded through a loan from Rand Merchant Botswana (RMB), which is a division of FNB Botswana and First Rand Bank Limited.

The Game City expansions include refurbishment to existing structures and the addition of a restaurant node, multi-function entertainment area with play section for children, an additional 4,000 square metres of retail space including a high fashion wing and a secure underground parkade accommodating 400 vehicles.
Game City mall has over 120 shops including Game Store, cinema, supermarkets, fast foods restaurants and clothing shops.

• Provisional liquidator fees average half a million a week
• Legal fees so far more than P4m
• Mining experts also engaged to probe BCL

The wheels of the BCL enquiry grind slowly, and at around P100 000/day it is the taxpayer who has to foot the bill for that painfully laborious process. The BCL saga is proving to be an expensive exercise as fees for the liquidator, lawyers and other service providers engaged in sifting through the remnants of the once mighty mining company mount. Provisional liquidator Nigel Dixon-Warren and his team have so far averaged P2m/month, or around half a million a week, since he was engaged in October last year to August this year.

The KPMG Botswana Senior partner was engaged in October 2016 when the liquidation process was initiated and has since then to August 2017, set back the taxpayer a cool P22 012 399.88. His monthly fees range from a million and a half to over two million Pula in some months. That averages more than P100 000 a working day. For example, in October 2016, the month he commenced his work on the embattled mine, the tax payer had to fork out P1 523 930.89, for the 554 hours his team put into the project. The October 2016 was the lowest monthly fee the financial expert claimed from the government.

The following month after that November and December 2016, he walked away with P2 590 083.29 and P2 876 915.29 respectively. His auditing firm KPMG Botswana and other KPMG subsidiaries cumulatively have claimed P5 425 143 so far, by end of August 2017. According to his report, the figure covers services such as producing the Status Assessment Report, as well as forensic and tax services.

He also engaged some of the top lawyers, in Botswana’s Bookbinder Business Law, South Africa’s Webber Wentzel and the United Kingdom’s Stevens & Bolton LLP, at hefty fees. Since appointing these legal firms, both BLL and S&B have taken home P3 963 006, while the South African firm took P645 140, totalling P4 608 146. On the other hand the mining experts Mineral Corporation Consultancy were paid P3.5m for their services to date which included designing the Care & Maintenance plan for the mine. Dixon-Warren says he is still months away from finishing the job he started, an ominous revelation to the bean counters at Government Enclave.

Bullish counter, New African Properties (NAP) has emerged as the most liquid property company on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) – the third quarter of 2017, helped by one off shareholder transactions, effected when property shares have been held so tightly.

Market information from the stock exchange indicate that NAP, which owns plush River Walk mall traded only 152. 4 million shares in the 3 months up to September 2017. Over 93 percent of these were traded on Wednesday 19th July when controlling shareholders the Myhardts family through Cash Bazaar slashed their stake by almost half from almost 80 percent.

The millionaire family is represented by business man John Mynhardt and his son Tobias Mynhardt who is currently the Managing Director (MD). Cash Bazaar reduced their stake from as high as 79.9 percent in June last year, to about 30 percent in July 2017.
Garry Juma, the Head of Research at Motswedi Securities says figures reflect the transaction, which if not, would have not seen NAP as liquid. “Most property stocks are not liquid. Shares are naturally tightly held.”

Most of NAP’s share fell into the hands of fund managers. Before the transactions, Cash Bazaar controlled 79,9 percent shareholding in NAP, until it traded two key transactions, one which garnered P457 million on another Wednesday in June last year when 156 million shares exchanged hands which analysts say indicates demand for property stocks. “Demand for property is very high but the problem is no one is selling,” Juma argues.
The transactions from last year and this year mean that the Mynhardts have sold almost half of the company, exactly 49, 3 percent shares in NAP, according to the Business Weekly & Review calculations, instigating better price recovery. On a year to date bases NAP stock price has rallied 9.18 percent to become the most valuable property valued 1.9 billion on the BSE. The liquidity makes NAP stock the best performing property stock.
Meanwhile, Letshego Holdings was the second largest trader after trading 58.7 million shares worth P489.2 million in the 3rd quarter of 2017. The pan African lender is one of the most traded stocks on the BSE, but has been subjected to selling pressures at the hands of external fund managers, according to Juma.

The First National Bank of Botswana (FNBB) emerged third with 46, 7 shares worth P113.4 million exchanging hands in the third quarter of 2017. Juma argues that fund managers have turned bullish, showing interest from the time the bank posted its results. “It’s also one of the tightly held shares.”

On a year to date basis, the BSE market information shows that the top 3 traded companies in terms of value, were NAP with P500.9 million, Sechaba at P342.3 million and Letshego with P232.6 million. These, the BSE notes, accounted for 50.2 percent of total turnover during the period to 30 September 2017. During the same period in 2016, the top 3 traded companies accounted to 65.6 percent of turnover.
The performance of the equity market on a year to date basis has reflected the slowdown in corporate earnings although on a comparative basis the Domestic Company Index (DCI) has performed better relative to the same period in 2016, the BSE quarterly report says. In 2017, the DCI has depreciated by 5.0 percent in comparison to a depreciation of 7.6 percent during the same period in 2016.

The Foreign Company Index (FCI) has depreciated by 0.5 percent on a year to date basis relative to an appreciation of 1.8 percent over the same period in 2016.
BSE says trading activity on the Exchange has been in line with levels recorded in 2016 over a similar period. However, there was a slight increase in 2017 with turnover amounting to P2, 144. 4 million compared to P2, 138. 7 million. On average, trading activity amounted to P11.5 million a day in both periods in 2017 and 2017. Trading volumes amounted 655.6 million shares and 653.1 million shares in 2017 and 2016 respectively.

Liberty Life Botswana has introduced a new financial literacy program named Mind My Money. According to a communique from the life insurer, the program aims to empower its participants to achieve wealth, financial freedom, and peace of mind through highly interactive workshops that combine focused financial information with inspirational videos, group exercises, online activities and storytelling.

When speaking during the launch, Liberty Life Botswana Managing Director (MD), Lulu Rasebotsa said that the current state of the Botswana economy provided the basis for the introduction of Mind My Money financial literacy program. “In these financially trying times, we need to go back to the drawing board and educate the public on good debt vs bad debt, benefits of long term vs short term borrowing, and how to make the best out of the little money they have to ensure it takes them just a little further,” Rasebotsa said with reference to the Bank of Botswana Monetary policy which forecasts that growth in personal incomes will continue to be restrained and will continue to also restrain overall domestic demand.

The bank further went on to mention that a considerable increase in administered prices and government levies and/or taxes as well as any increase in international food and oil prices beyond current forecasts presents an uncertain possibility of gain in inflation.
Rasebotsa said Liberty has taken public education responsibility head on, which “all starts with us being a society that is conversant in the language of money, how to make it, how to spend it, how to save it, and how to invest it.”

Mind My Money financial literacy program is a personal journey to financial freedom put together by experts who understand money, the ages and stages of it. Through the interactive learning process, the program provides knowledge on how to manage income, tackle debt, save and plan for future investments.

In her officiating address, Honorable Bogolo Kenewendo, Member of Parliament – Special Elect, began by commending Liberty Life Botswana for bringing Mind My Money financial literacy program to life and to the doors of many Batswana who need it. She further mentioned that the government is concerned about the notable increase in household indebtedness and its causes.

“The 2015-2020 Financial Inclusion Roadmap outlines financial literacy as one of the key Implementation Priority Areas to promote financial inclusiveness in Botswana. Lack of understanding of financial products was identified as a specific barrier to access by both consumers and product providers.”

Further, she urged businesses and individuals alike to commit themselves to educate themselves, especially through available platforms such as the Mind My Money, so that they may lead better lives and be productive, functioning members of society unencumbered by the heavy load of unwarranted debt.

World Bank Lead Economist, Punam Chuhan-Pole says domestic output in Botswana is projected to grow at around 4.5 percent in 2017, almost double the 2.9 percent in 2016, driven by a rebound in commodity prices.

This was revealed at a conference launch of the Africa’s Pulse, a bi-annual analysis of the state of African economies conducted by The World Bank.
She said Botswana would benefit from the recovery in the global economy which is slowly rising appetite for extractive commodities, hence an upward trajectory in commodity prices like diamonds, copper and other minerals. Botswana is dependent on mining, and specifically diamonds which account for a quarter of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and over 80 percent of the foreign reserves. Further, non-mining sector, mostly the services and financial sector is also expected to significantly contribute to the growth, and also help in diversity.

Latest figures from Botswana’s national accounts office show that the domestic economy increased by 1.0 percent in the second quarter of 2017 compared to an increase of 3.9 percent recorded in the same quarter of 2016. The increase was attributed to real value added of Water & Electricity, Transport & Communications and Finance & Business Services which increased by 6.0, 5.9 and 5.6 percent respectively. All other industries recorded positive growths of more than 1.2 percent with the exception of Mining and Manufacturing which decreased by 13.8 and 0.2 percent respectively.

Botswana’s projected growth by the World Bank, will be alongside that of Sub Saharan Africa which is also expected to grow at a modest 2.4 percent in 2017 from 1.3 percent seen in 2016. According to, Alberrt Zeufack, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, the rebound in Sub-Saharan Africa is led by largest economies, mostly South Africa and Nigeria. In the second quarter of this year, Nigeria, the second largest economy in Africa, pulled out of a five-quarter recession while Africa’ superpower, South Africa emerged from two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, Zeufack said.

He further said improving global conditions, including rising energy and metals prices and increased capital inflows, have helped support the recovery in regional growth.
However, the report warns that the pace of the recovery remains sluggish and will be insufficient to lift per capita income in 2017.

Growth continues to be multispeed across the region. In non-resource intensive countries such as Ethiopia and Senegal, growth remains broadly stable supported by infrastructure investments and increased crop production. In metal exporting countries, an increase in output and investment in the mining sector amid rising metals prices has enabled a rebound in activity.

Looking ahead, Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to see a moderate increase in economic activity, with growth rising to 3.2 percent in 2018 and 3.5 percent in 2019 as commodity prices firm and domestic demand gradually gains ground, helped by slowing inflation and monetary policy easing. However, the World Bank warns that growth prospects will remain weak in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) countries as they struggle to adjust to low oil prices.

Africa’s Pulse further explains that the economic expansion in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries is expected to proceed at a strong pace on the back of solid public investment growth, led by Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Elsewhere, growth is projected to firm in Tanzania on a rebound in investment growth and recover in Kenya, as inflation eases. Ethiopia is likely to remain the fastest-growing economy in the region, although public investment is expected to slow down.

“The outlook for the region remains challenging as economic growth remains well below the pre-crisis average,” said Chuhan-Pole, World Bank Lead Economist and lead author of the report. “Moreover, the moderate pace of growth will only yield slow gains in per capita income that will not be enough to harness broad-based prosperity and accelerate poverty reduction.”

As African countries seek new drivers of sustained inclusive growth, attention to skills building is growing. The Africa’s Pulse report dedicates a special section to analyzing how African countries, through smarter investments in foundational skills for children, youth, and adults, can leverage spending to achieve better learning outcomes that will simultaneously enhance productivity growth, inclusion, and the adaptability of Africa’s workers to the demands of today’s markets and those of the future.

In most countries, skills-building efforts must strive to make spending smarter to ensure greater efficiency and better outcomes. Countries face two hard choices in balancing their skills portfolios: striking the right balance between overall productivity growth and inclusion, on the one hand, and investing in the skills of today’s workforce and tomorrow’s workforce, on the other hand.

Investing in the foundational skills of children, youth, and adults is the most effective strategy to enhance productivity growth, inclusion, and adaptability simultaneously. Thus, all countries should prioritize building universal foundational skills for the workers of today and tomorrow.

On Wednesday morning or at least before afternoon, one of the most successful parastatal CEOs in the history of the country, Botswana Ash’s no-nonsense man Montwedi Mpathi was inside the Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd company corporate plane, on the way to the soda-ash mining town of Sua Pan. He was accompanied by very same men who had sacked him the day before, on Tuesday, Botswana Ash chairman Ian D. Forbes, and others who represent Chlor-Alkali Holdings (Pty) Ltd (CAH) the South African technical partner in the parastatal Botswana Ash (Pty) Ltd. Tuesday 31st October was the last day Mphathi would lead the mining company, after that 2 hour extraordinary board meeting held within the lush surrounds of the Grand Palm, to the west of Gaborone.

Within the space of three hours over a couple of jugs of coffee, without formal charges nor a hearing, the men from CAH had dismissed perhaps one of the most recognised names in local corporate leadership.

By the time he took that flight a memo had already been dispatched to BotAsh staff. Its subject? Montwedi Mphathi – Managing Director. It read in short, “This letter serves to advice (sic) you that with effect from the close of business Tuesday 31st October 2017 Montwedi Mphathi has left the employ of Botswana Ash in order to pursue other business interests”. It was only when that memo hit the staff, circulated through the media industry that Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security Sadique Kebonang was alerted to the saga. Out on official business in Seoul, South Korea, Kebonang was unaware of the internal happenings within the company, until after the event.

Speaking to this publication Thursday, Kebonang said he was shocked that such a serious decision can be made without engaging the citizen shareholder. “I would have expected that we would have been consulted over this decision, as early as when, and if, the MD was charged. It is simply arrogant that such decisions can be made without our input” said an irate Kebonang.

Mphathi, or Monty, as those close to him call him, was always going to be a challenge for the South Africans accustomed to working in an environment where power dissipates from top down. Your superior tells you to do something, no questions are asked, you do it! Mphathi is the exact opposite, intellectually sharp, experienced and independent minded. It is instructive that he was dismissed for “insubordination”.

CAH came to own 50 per cent of Botswana Ash, and thus became a technical equal shareholder against Government’s 50 per cent ownership, in 2010, when the company bought various portions of the parastatal owned Anglo Amercan (14 %), De Beers (14 %) AECI Ltd (14%) FirstRand Bank Ltd (3.96%), Standard Bank Group Ltd (2.47%) Nedbank Ltd (1.57%). Government on discovery of the deposit of Soda Ash in the north central part of the country, had kick-started the mining company in 1991 to produce both Soda Ash and Salt for exportation.

Botswana Ash had attracted the South African giant due to its strategic presence in an otherwise very unique industry. The SA giant, was itself an operator of companies further up the value chain, among them NCP Chlorchem (South Africa) and Walvis Bay Salt (Namibia). Botash produces around 300 000 tonnes of ash and 650 000 salt per year and is one of the best run parastatals in the country. In a year in which another major government mining entity, BCL, collapsed reportedly from a mix of mismanagement and industry downturn taking with it about 5000 direct jobs, Botash had become the blue-eyed boy of the parastatal landscape, recently paying Government about P90m in dividend. The company holds more than P300m in reserves, while targeting another P300m in EBITDA, according to the company’s media briefing earlier this year.

But behind that façade of its reported success, Mphathi has been fighting a losing battle, internally. Mphathi expressed concerns over wrong doing in the financial reporting of the company. This followed from reports that there had been extensive underreporting of the company’s assets especially the exported soda ash when it arrived in South Africa. In one case stock worth P28m reportedly disappeared in Johannesburg. Other concerns raised, according to those close to Mphathi, included transfer pricing, overstating costs thereby denying government revenue both from dividend and tax revenue.

According to sources one of the major turning points in the relationship, arose when, recently, CAH attempted to buy out Government, offering to pay P400m for Government’s 50 per cent shareholding. However a due diligence report compiled by RMB Botswana on behalf of the MDCB, Government’s mineral investment arm, reportedly put the value of the operation at P1.3bn. Government officials saw the offer by CAH as insincere. Various senior government officials who spoke to this publication complained of a general lack of accountability and in some cases arrogance from the board led by the CAH team.

For Mphathi things came to a head when he made a decision that many say was fateful – he suspended a senior member of the financial department. Mphathi, those close to him argue, instigated an extensive probe into the dealings between BotAsh and some CAH subsidiaries in South Africa to which the parastatal sent its produce for processing. Mphathi suspected collusion between his financial officials, some members of the board, and South African companies. The suspension caused great consternation among the CAH arm of the BotAsh, especially from Board Chairman Forbes.

The investigation commenced a mere two weeks ago. It is said Forbes explicitly warned Mphathi not to suspend the official, promising him that he would pay a heavy price.
This week when the board descended on Gaborone, Mphathi took it that the investigations would come before the board for discussion, and maybe he would have the opportunity to brief the board about his differences with Forbes on the matter.

The week started as normal for the men and women who run one of the few remaining successful mining parastatals. The board took up a room at the Grand Palm and sat to deliberate on the business of the company. Mphathi was excused from proceedings, and, informed that he would be the subject of the deliberations. The meeting took two hours, no more than that. When the board members emerged from the gathering, some left, leaving behind only the chairman and two other board members. Forbes informed Mphathi that the board had resolved to sack him. That he had been found guilty of insubordination, by ignoring the warnings of the Chairman. Other reasons were given to justify the decision, namely that the due diligence conducted by RMB was conducted without their input. Board members who were present say the rest of the charges were only mentioned glibly, the objective being to get rid of the outspoken MD.

But back to the flight, all this was business, nothing personal. The flight to Sua Pan came at the right time as far as the South Africans were concerned. It had been decided it would make sense, to help the outgoing MD, for him to travel in the corporate jet, so that he would arrive in Sua Pan earlier, so that he would pack his belongings earlier and leave the company house sooner. In a way it was to the convenience of the South Africans, the man they had always wanted out was finally out of the way. Forbes would not comment on this matter. Mphathi’s phone was off by time of going to press. A message left for him was not responded to.

It remains to be seen what action the Minister will take. The Mphathi saga will once again cast a shadow over the role of Government representatives on parastatal boards. Unlike BCL before it, the relevant ministry has not interceded to protect its representative, like BCL the passive role of those appointed to represent the tax payers and government’s investments, in strategic institutions needs to be scrutinised.

Deputy Clerk of the Parliamentary Tutu Tsiang has struggled to explain to the Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises how a Parliamentary report on Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Tourism Tshekedi Khama’s damning report of his involvement at Botswana Tourism Organization disappeared.

While appearing before the committee, Tsiang said she was unable to explain how the Parliament lost the files unless an investigation is launched to establish what could have happened. “I don’t have answers, there needs to be an investigation.” The committee struggled to get its hands on the report, to compile a recommendation to be presented before Parliament. The committee chair, Samson Guma Moyo says the committee learnt in May that the record went missing. Infact, he says what the committee has been getting is reconciliation of bits of information gleaned from different sourced as a cover up. “You attempted to reconcile files by picking different parts of information, I have evidence.”
It emerges that the files disappeared with the exit of then Clerk Shabani Chikamabo who had been mandated to work on the report. Tsiang says a number of documents which were confidential were in his custody. Chikambo was redeployed to the Attorney General after his contract with former employ elapsed. It appears that before he left he had not completed his task, raising questions of lack of processes to take care of the lapses according to the committee.

“The gentlemen was on a contract, Parliament knew he would leave, what he was handling, as a way of supervision, would you have not have known that at his pace he would not have finished the job?” Committee member Phenyo Butale quizzes.

In defense, Tsiang says they had submitted a recommendation for the Clerk to be retrained only to be turned down by the Permanent Secretary (PS). The committee was stunned to learn that Chikambo was still working on the report despite that he was out of office. The files carried evidence of Khama’s involvement at the BTO. Khama is believed by the committee to have been abusing his power, throwing his weight about at the ministerial level and the BTO. He was ‘illegally’ involved in un-procedural tenders. Khama has also deliberately allowed BTO to run without a board, a move seen by the committee to create a vacuum for him to run the show. The committee observed that BTO’s decision have been centralized at ministerial level so much that Khama fell out with then CEO Thabo Dithebe and his former Permanent Secretary Elias Magosi. Both Magosi and Dithebe quit thereafter.

Until recently no medical aid cover existed in Botswana that was specifically designed to cater for students. After going through a traumatizing experience of falling ill whilst still a student owner and director Kabo Letlhare–Wastikc explains that after he was diagnosed with TB during his second year 2 at the University of Botswana, he had to lie helpless at a government hospital with no option of seeking alternative health care facilities. Wastikc had no medical aid at the time and realized that he did not know of any student with their own medical aid. Establishing the medical aid scheme, he says, was therefore prompted by practical ramifications and observations surrounding student’s health
concerns. An idea then sprung up: the need to cater for students
who might be in need of medical attention, as they say, ‘every experience is lesson, every loss a gain.’ The motivation behind the enterprise was to change the situation for University going students and start a medical aid they could afford, said the Director of Etudiant, Wastikc.

Etudiant is the only medical aid in Botswana which caters specifically to students health needs. It faces little or no competition from any of the other medical aid providers as it is the only medical aid that targets students. Although they bear the brunt of costs unlike with other medical aids where students enroll under parents or guardian memberships by virtue of being s student. The company was founded in 2010 and has been operational in the country for seven years now. Letlhare- Wastic assertively told The Business Weekly & Review that their uniqueness lay in what they cover as they were exclusively for students with a target market of 17-24 years, an entirely different model to other industry players who focused on a different market segment. “We are a specialized medical aid for students. We are the only medical aid in Botswana which is strictly for students. Our cover includes, optical, dental, and acute care.’’ The student oriented cover is counted amongst the leading medical aids societies in Botswana among the likes of Pula Medical Aid Fund, Botswana Medical aid Society (Bomaid). The Director revealed that they are able to generate positive growth as they have a good number of students enrolling, many of whom that were not previously covered. “Without revealing our total membership, we have a generous number as many students’
parents are not in any health cover. A majority of students are therefore not covered as dependents in any cover. This gives us a great opportunity to cover them,’’Wastikc said.

According to the youthful Director who is only thirty three years old, he has been in Fund Management in the non-bank financial services sector his entire working life after graduating in mechanical engineering when he set up his company in 2010. Additionally he disclosed that , “Insurance business is premised on risk. The lower the risk, the more the profits.’’ He is of the view that due to student’s young age they are of low health risk, as compared to the older segment of the population, the traditional focal point for medical aid schemes. The scheme also encompasses a loyalty rewards provision for graduating clients who have never made a claim, and have paid monthly premiums without fail during their schooling days, comprising of a pay back of 80 percentage of contribution. The reward is only availed to those who have graduated and have paid monthly fees without default. “This was put in place to encourage graduation, not dropping from school,’’claims Wastikc.

When asked if government reduction on the number of students progressing to tertiary education had a negative bearing on their operational basis he said, “It is because if you have a large pie and you can only bite a quarter of it, and the pie is reduced, the quarter you are now biting is less that the one you used to. We can not control Government policy.’’ The company says it will rather opt to diversify and globalize than point fingers. Etudiant reiterated their stance as an entity that is not seeking to exploit student’s needs but rather to ensure that students in desperate needs are catered to. They have assisted over 2000 students who purchased spectacles through their cover, over 500 dental cases attended and countless others. In their search for growth into the regional market the Managing Director concluded by saying they wanted people to know about their existence, “We would like millions of people to know of us. At the moment we target schools for immediate sales conversion, more than trying to build awareness,’’he said.

It has emerged that, faced with scandals in the management of billions belonging to pensioners, the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF) is yet to make a decision on the P1.5 billion incubation mandates which were expected to have been awarded by close of 2017.
BPOPF Chairman Carter Morupisi said a decision is yet to be made for the award of the mandates. “It depends on the secretariat. The Investment sub-committee is yet to make a recommendation to the main board of trustees,” Morupisi said.
However, there are fears that the BPOPF is currently immersed in disputes which have diverted its priorities. Recently, BPOPF terminated a P3.9 billion mandate with Kgori Capital after its former boss was alleged to have been involved in illegal transactions. BPOPF is also in a legal dispute with Capital Management Botswana (CMB). Further, there are reports that the board of trustees is looking to remove Boitumelo Molefe as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the fund. All these matters are believed to have contributed to the delay in the incubation mandates, despite the fact that companies were shortlisted in August last year.
BPOPF acting CEO Moemedi Malindah has advised that the Fund is currently going through the legal due diligence of the procurement stage. BPOPF announced at a press briefing mid-last year that the allocations would be done by December last year. At the time of the announcement, the fund confirmed that companies had been shortlisted and were in the final stage of the due diligence. The same stage which Malindah says the BPOPF currently engaged in, indicating that the shortlisted companies have been undergoing the legal due diligence since August last year.
“Legal due diligence stage process can take longer than anticipated. There are few issues that are being discussed by the parties to the contracts,” Malindah said, declining to reveal those issues.
Malindah said, the delay has got nothing to do with the current difficulties faced by BPOPF. As has become all too common, the P1.5 billion incubation tender has not been without controversy. When it comes to the BPOPF money, controversy always follow.
There are some industry players who feel that the BPOPF designed the incubation tender in such a way that allows for the fund to hand-pick its preferred candidates, who may not necessarily be the best available, while on the other hand others feel that the fund was merely loosening technical requirements to widen a pool of possible bidders for the incubates, a stance which the BPOPF itself also emphasizes.
Normally, under tender evaluation there were two critical stages: compliance, where bidders have to be fully registered with the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA). Under the incubation tender the fund does not require that companies be registered with NBFIRA before bidding. The Business Weekly & Review asked BPOPF why the requirement for the bidders to be registered under NBFIRA had been removed; BPOPF advised, in response, that the objective of the procurement of Incubates was to ensure that as wide a pool of Batswana were potentially eligible for the program.
“Our lessons learnt from the previous exercise led us to believe that by insisting of NBFIRA licensing ahead of ascertaining whether or not a team of individuals was suitable for the program unnecessarily limited the pool of candidates, “BPOPF responded.
The Fund, one of the richest in Africa, has already identified its victorious contestants, although publicly the shortlisted firms have been kept confidential for now. At its meeting in August last year, the board of trustees approved the recommendation of Serala Capital to be appointed listed equity managers awarded assets worth P500 million. It was further determined that should Serala Capital fail the final vetting and due diligence, the portfolio would be passed to runner-ups Confianza Capital.
Serala Capital is a company that was formed last year around June, under the motivation of the BPOPF incubation tender. Mothusi Lekaukau, younger brother to former Standard Chartered Bank Botswana Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Moatlhodi Lekaukau is a majority shareholder in the company which he had partnered with Themba Jeremiah. The young Lekaukau, had been a with Fleming Asset management firm, where he held the position of Chief Investment Officer (CIO) until February this year. The Aston University graduate is in partnership with Themba Jeremiah, who was also employed by the same firm that employed Lekaukau, Fleming. Jeremiah, who previously worked at Bank of Botswana (BoB) and Delloitte Botswana, is an Investment Analyst at Fleming Asset Management.
Confianza is owned by former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at African Alliance, Donald Gaetsaloe, and partners. Confianza has was registered in 2016, and has been in operation since registration.
There is also competition for P500 million in private equities.
African Lighthouse Capital and Aleyo Capital have been approved to be appointed local private equity managers, at P500 million portfolio apiece. Should the two fail the final vetting hurdles, the contract is said to be passed on to Lepako Partners, according to reliable sources
African Lighthouse Capital is owned by one Bame Pule, a Motswana who is based in Johannesburg. Originally from Botswana, Bame Pule is the CEO and founder of the private equity company Africa Lighthouse Capital, which is based in Johannesburg. He has previously worked at Goldman Sachs, ShoreView Capital and has worked in private equity in Africa since 2006. He holds a MBA from Harvard Business School.
Pule is passionate about entrepreneurial and private-sector development in Africa. Bame Pule has advised African billionaires across the continent on transformational development-driven projects. Pule’s company is targeted to be awarded the P500 million, should it pass the final stage of due diligence. In private equity, African Lighthouse is alongside Aleyo Capital which, if it passes the final stages of due diligence will be mandated P500 million.
Aleyo Mcapital is owned by Bafana Molomo, former Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Botswana Development Corporation (BDC), a government investment arm. Molomo joined BDC in June 2015 from Vantage Capital – a leading mezzanine fund manager based in Johannesburg and operating across Sub-Saharan Africa. As a member of the Vantage Investment Team managing the R2 billion Vantage Pan-Africa Mezzanine Debt Fund, he has been involved in deal origination, design of complex deal structures, financial modelling, and investment analysis, due diligence, portfolio value enhancement, and exit management. At Vantage, Bafana was a Senior Associate originating and structuring deals in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique. He was previously with Venture Partners Botswana and Namibia as a senior investment professional, a career he began as an investment analyst with Fleming Asset Management Botswana.
By November 2016, the BPOPF Board of Trustees approved the Fund’s Incubation Program Policy, which aims to empower citizen asset managers, under the stewardship of CEO Boitumelo Molefe. When briefing the media last year, she informed the press that the asset management business tends to be dominated by foreign major players in the industry. In this regard start-ups and smaller asset managers encounter barriers to entry which can inhibit competition and stifle potential growth.
At the time, Molefe had indicated that large institutional investors such as pension funds can through an Incubation Program, provide seedling capital, to enable the asset manager to build a verifiable track record. In her view, the policy was aimed at developing local talent, improve diversification and have a meaningful impact on the development of the industry.
Locally, the BPOPF boss said the fund is underweight in alternative investments. “There is currently one private equity manager and one direct property manager, investing in the local alternative space is therefore one of the strategic leverage areas of the fund to further grow assets,” she said, adding that to achieve this objective, an incubation program had been launched to increase local private equity and infrastructure investments.
Pension Funds have traditionally held investments in listed equities, bonds and properties, but Molefe said that recently there has been very little growth in these assets classes and alternative investments which are not correlated to listed assets are the latest investible assets where growth opportunities are being realized. These include hedge funds, private equity and infrastructure, while some direct property investments are also yielding higher potential growth.

Botswana is accelerating towards a constitutional crisis, with a complete shutdown of Parliament, if the interpretation of the Constitution, by some legal minds about the ascendance of President Mokgweetsi Masisi is anything to go by. According to the legal train of thought President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s presidency is not substantive, and if it is not made substantive by Saturday, the country will head for an early election as parliament automatically dissolves. In a week which witnessed the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) boycotting the nomination of new Vice President (VP) Slumber Tsogwane, as they did with the Inauguration of the new President, a debate has emerged over the legality of the presidential inauguration and the subsequent processes that flowed from his appointment.
Legal minds were left scratching their heads this week when it emerged President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s had not been elected to the highest office in the country by a majority of votes in the National Assembly. The failure to hold the election may have rendered his inauguration as the substantive President of Botswana as irregular, and that his presidency may only be valid until midnight Friday. Furthermore it is argued that unless Masisi is inaugurated within 7 days of President Khama ceasing to be president, Parliament would have to automatically dissolve and national elections would have to be held.
This week prominent lawyer Tshiamo Rantao threw the cat among the pigeons when he expressed the opinion that the constitution does not provide that the automatic succession of the Vice President to the presidency is permanent, but rather that the Constitution provides that the Vice President is installed as President only until Parliament can formally vote on the new President. Masisi ascended to the office on the night of 31st March automatically when President Ian Khama’s term ended, but under that arrangement lawyers argue, he can only be a temporary President with limited authority This temporary arrangement is valid for a maximum period of 7 days under the constitution.
Following the revelations that Masisi had taken on the substantive appointment of President without a vote in parliament. Rantao wrote on his personal Facebook page that the Constitution had not granted Masisi a substantive presidential position, when he automatically assumed the vacant office left by outgoing President Ian Khama at the end of his term on 31st March 2018.
“I have a niggling doubt that his ascendancy was constitutional, regard being had to section 35 of the Constitution which seems to me not to create room for automatic succession. Section 35(1), read together with sections 35(3) and 35(4), seems to me to envisage a situation where the Vice President only assumes office temporarily pending the election of President by the National Assembly by a secret ballot under section 35(4) and in line with the procedure under section 35(5)” he argued and sparking a spirited debate.
According to Section 35 (1) “Whenever the President dies, resigns or ceases to hold office, the Vice-President shall assume office as President with effect from the date of the death, resignation or ceasing to be President”. Read in isolation, lawyers argue, it would indicate that Vice President automatically becomes President upon the departure of a President. This is the position that Attorney General Abraham Keetshabe takes in the current edition of The Guardian when quizzed by weekly’s Dikarabo Ramadubu on the matter. Keetshabe, Ramadubu says, argues that when the outgoing President steps down, there is no gap in terms of the incoming president because the process is instant and simultaneous, the Oath of Office, according to the Attorney General is merely a formality for what has already taken place by operation of law, “What this means is, the office of the presidency, is conferred by operation of the law in the constitution of the republic” writes Ramadubu.
Another well respected Attorney, Ngakaagae thinks Keetshabe is not addressing the real concerns that have been raised. “No one is talking about the oath. We are all talking about the constitution. The AG is not dealing with the enquiry. The fact that he is choosing to strike off at a tangent suggests he has no answer. His is a separate discourse”. Ngakaagae agrees with Rantao, that the President, in order to assume all the executive powers under the Constitution needs to be elected by Parliamant and notes that the Attorney General fails to address the subsequent provisions of the Constitution that mandate the vote within 7 days. Critiquing the Attorney General, Ngakaagae points out that one can only assume an office if its vacant and that Masisi could not have assumed office while Khama was still sitting as president.
Other lawyers have argued that a substantive position of Presidency is not envisaged by the constitution, other than after general election, except where the President is voted in by Parliament. The legal minds ask that Section 35 (1) be read with the rest of the subsections of that part of the constitution. Youthful lawyer Kago Mokotedi pursues this argument when commenting on Rantao’s assertion.
In particular Section 35 (4) states, “If the office of President becomes vacant, the National Assembly shall, unless Parliament is dissolved, and notwithstanding that it may be prorogued, meet on the seventh day after the office of President becomes vacant, or on such earlier day as may be appointed by the Speaker, and shall elect a person to the office in such manner as is prescribed by the next following subsection and, subject thereto, by or under an Act of Parliament”. Those that support Rantao’s contention argue that no substantive President can be appointed except through the parliamentary process, which is explained in detail under Section 35 (5). They argue further that Masisi’s Presidency, without him having been elected under Section 35 (4), is only valid from 1st April until 7th April, marking seven days since Khama’s left and the office became vacant. Following this argument what ought to have happened was that on 1st April, over and above taking his Oath of Office as President, Masisi was supposed to have been properly nominated, voted in Parliament, and formally ascended.
Youthful lawyer Kago Mokotedi concurs with Rantao’s interpretation. “I agree with Tshiamo Rantao’s interpretation. It would appear that Masisi and his legal team only read and relied on section 35 (1) and no further! Provisions of the Constitution must be read in wholesale, and not in isolation to one another! If the Constitution of Botswana did not have Section 35 (3), (4) and (5), the ‘inauguration’ of His Exellency Masisi would be valid and constitutional. What must obtain when a seating president vacates or ceases to hold office, as it is the case with Khama, in terms of BW’s constitution, is clear and free from any ambiguity from the plain reading of the Constitution, and there is no need to seek an alternative interpretation. Masisi’s ‘inauguration’ must be temporary and he can only exercise powers of the President after being duly and constitutionally elected by Parliament” he asserts.
Veteran lawyers such as former Chairperson of the Law Society of Botswana Lawrence Lecha, Joao Salbany and Kgosi Ngakaagae have weighed in, arguing that Masisi’s appointment has not been made substantive and that the country may not have a substantive President by midnight today (Friday).
If this argument is correct then, lawyers argue, there is no such thing as automatic-succession in the formal definition of the phrase, given that the ascendance of the President through this dispensation is only a stop-gap. “In other words, my reading of our Constitution is such that automatic succession is not provided for contrary to popular belief. Politically, I think Honorable Masisi would still be elected by the National Assembly due to the obvious ruling party majority, but I doubt that his assumption of office currently is constitutional. I may be wrong, but if I am right, then those in authority should correct the problem in the interest of the rule of law. Should this be challenged in court, one imagines that there would be good prospects of success, and that could embarrass the nation,” expressed Rantao.
If this interpretation is correct, then the process of appointing the President has to be done according to the Constitution. The Botswana Democratic Party has to nominate him for the position, whereupon Parliament would have to meet and vote on the candidate, other political parties would be able to do the same should they chose to do so. If the process is not followed a worse prospect may await the country. According to legal minds, if a substantive President is not in place by midnight Friday, automatically Parliament is said to have been dissolved, a process which would then kick start the calling of a fresh election.
Salbany argues that the delay in appointing President presents grave prospects. “VP assumes office with limited capacity under 35 (1) but there has to be an election for the President under 35 (5) for him to enjoy the full authority of that Office. This needs to be done within 7 days (or earlier). The candidate needs to secure at least half plus one votes of the TOTAL number of Members of Parliament (less the Speaker and Attorney General). In the event that no election is held for the Presidency within the stipulated number of days then Parliament would stand dissolved and national elections would need to be held. It is a given that with the absolute majority that he enjoys Rre Masisi would secure the presidency, but the Constitution still needs to be adhered to,” he argues.
Salbany adds that given the various interpretations that have been given to section 35 of the Constitution, it may ultimately fall to the Court to interpret how the President assumes office under the section. In 2014, acting on the instructions of the UDC, Bayford and Salbany intervened when the BDP sought to change the Standing Orders to ensure an open ballot for the election of the Vice- President. The Attorney General subsequently took up the case on behalf of the BDP resulting in parliament being suspended. Salbany argues that under the provisions of Section 35, parliament is not empowered to conduct any other business until the election of the President has been conducted, “it will be interesting to see if the Attorney General will intervene in this instance.”
If Masisi’s presidency is challenged the country could face the prospects of an early election.

Staff writer TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA reviews the performance of the PAC members as they encounter Directorate of Intelligence and Security Isaac Kgosi
The PAC as a committee
Watching the Public Accounts Committee trying to get DIS chief Isaac Kgosi to account for the hundreds of millions of Pula spent from the National Petroleum Fund was like watching a surgeon trying to skin an elephant with a scalpel. They were not going anywhere anytime soon. One reason was because Kgosi came with implicit power behind him. Kgosi is perhaps the most powerful man in this country since President Ian Khama left office. This is not because Kgosi himself personally is powerful, but because of what he represents.
The spy chief, after almost 10 years at the heart of the executive arm’s dark underbelly, holds power unmatched since Debswana’s late MD Louis Nchindo. With one foot in the Khama era, with its weaponised intelligence gathering, dagger and cloak ways, and the other foot in the new President Mokgweetsi Masisi era, with its newly shoe-shined self-confidence, Kgosi remains more powerful than it was made out to be over the last few months.
The Public Accounts Committee failed to make Kgosi account, simply because the committee had not done its homework. Parliament has become the orphan child of our democratic state, starved of resources by the executive, and increasingly being sidelined by an undemocratic presidential overreach. But that only means MPs and indeed Parliamentary Committees ought to cover those weaknesses of the system by empowering themselves. Parliament should have invested time and resources in giving the MPs the necessary informational support. For example, it became increasingly clear that the committee lacked the legal briefing to be able to know where its power stands against other organs of state such as Cabinet or the Courts. This meant that every moment Kgosi was cornered he could hide behind these bodies, by either, stating that the matter was “classified” or “before the courts”.
It should be clear now to the PAC that this is becoming two of the major escape routes through which everyone called on this NPF saga, seeks to escape. By now legal advice should have been sought as to where the power of the Parliament sits versus the Executive and the Judiciary. Parliament, because of this lack of preparation by the PAC, is being done a disservice, its ability to make other organs of the state account is being eroded. PAC staff should have briefed MPs on what “classified” means, as far as their ability to make Kgosi account is concerned.
The PAC should know by now, whether they have the powers to insist on their questions being answered whether the matter is “classified” or “before the courts”. This is simple law that the PAC and indeed Parliament as an institution should have made sure its MPs are fully briefed about, especially given that these NPF hearings have been going on for a week now, and the majority of witnesses brought forth have been wielding these two arguments repeatedly as a parry to the PAC’s questions. But to be fair, their powers are limited until such a time as the Speaker compels the witnessed to divulge what they currently refuse. Even so, many of Kgosi’s deflections were outright violations of the legislative provisions that govern the PAC and the spy chief’s evidence before it.
The other reason why the PAC has failed so far is because its members simply lack the psychological preparation for such an exercise. Before proceedings could commence the chief spy had one request to make – he sought to address the Public Accounts Committee. The insistence by Kgosi that he addresses the committee before it starts, ought to have been turned down outright. By insisting on that request, Kgosi was playing intelligence tactics, by establishing the power relations between him as representing the security apparatus specifically and the Executive generally, and the PAC as representing Parliament. As has happened in the past, the Executive sought to impose its will on another arm of government, and there was no one to rein it in.
The Parliament opted not to take the judicial route, through a Commission of Enquiry, to assist it in unravelling this saga, choosing to go it alone. Therefore, it was incumbent on it to make the necessary preparations needed to execute this probe so that its findings are of some public good. All eyes are on the PAC and Parliament and it has to do a much better job of perhaps the most important enquiry it ever engaged in, since independence. The PAC cannot afford to commit school boy errors like when MP Shawn Ntlhaile had to be called after his sudden departure collapsed the committee quorum. It turned the whole gathering into a joke.
Isaac Kgosi
Kgosi did what he had to do, which was give as little information as possible to limit the chances of self-incrimination, and blocking any access to further enquiry by sheer volume and inflated physical presence. He was clearly well prepared, but at the same time not sufficiently engaged to expose the levels of maladministration that are clearly emerging.
In some warped way he has emerged vindicated, if tainted, so far. His first weapon was pure aggression. By being allowed to address the PAC even before they got started, he established the parameters of the engagement. His statement lacked any rhetorical punch though, it turned into an insipid statement that smelled and tasted like it was put together by a team of public relations executives.
Keorapetse was correct to assure him when he said, “We will be fair to you sir”. The problem for Kgosi is that he took a position that was overly defensive, a position that ignores the public appeal aspect of his performance. After all it is the public’s money that the DIS used, the chief spy has to be able to keep in his mind that he is ultimately answering the public. His body language exuded arrogance and impunity which was completed by his aggressive style to parring questions. He interjected too many times. Kgosi’s superiors, if they care, should be worried that he has won little public sympathy, and indeed served to entrench the view that, the executive seeks to abet looting of public funds.
Kgosi was simply refusing to answer questions, but it is because Kgosi does not possess the intellectual armoury to simply match members if a much more engaged discussion were to be allowed. When Guma asks if he is aware that cabinet has made a decision for the DIS to return the money, he refused to acknowledge he is aware because he fears the follow up questions but then he also accept that he has seen the communication. The problem for Kgosi is that if he goes aggressive, he loses public sympathy, and if he goes soft, he lets in the sharp minds of members like Gaolathe, Guma and Keorapetse to start to pick him apart. In a way he succeeded in escaping the latter, but if the MPs utilise this break to get a better handle on the legal parameters within which the PAC is working, the chief spy might have serious problems evading questions through the “judicial” or “classified” emergency exit doors.
What was a shocking revelation however was the total lack of intelligence gathering the spy chief actually engages in, given the vast sums of public money involved, Kgosi repeatedly fell back on an untenable position that he did not know Khulaco, he did not know how a ministry operates or who authorised what within a ministry. For a man tasked in protecting the nation these self-serving non-answers are telling, of a much greater problem of the lack of accountability and impunity under which he has acted for far too long.

Keorapetse – acting chairman
Keorapetse finds himself having to handle perhaps the biggest hearing of the PAC since the BCL saga after the substantive chairman recused himself for family reasons. He has handled it relatively well so far but there are some glaring errors he could do without. The youthful MP has the brains to process these type of scenarios. He has the confidence, and perhaps a little of the necessary arrogance to call members of the executive, most of whom come armed with a good measure of pride, to order. It was apparent from the hearing that there is no love lost between Kgosi and Keorapetse. Multiple times Kgosi sought to guide the proceedings, a matter that Keorapetse, rightly found, particularly unacceptable. At some stage it started to look like it would turn into a shouting match but ultimately controlled by the chair.
Keorapetse’s chairing has a major flaw however, being that it seeks to channel every question from each member to the witness. He seeks to elaborate almost every question asked, but this does not work because, he interrupts the flow of the exchange between member and witness, and secondly he runs the risk of derailing the train of thought of the member. As chair he should also by now know his team very well, so he knows who needs to be accommodated in what way and also which member of his team is best placed to follow an issue. In a way he should know by now that Ndaba Gaolathe is an expert in public finance matters but the MP has a generally soft approach which may seem slow to some. Keorapetse’s enthusiasm to assist, often comes off as impeding the proper flow of questioning, derailing debate. He above everybody else, ought to be the most armed with information on what parameters the PAC have been given by the law, so he is able to guide the discussion especially where the witness like Kgosi wants to hide behind the law or executive procedure.
Ndaba Gaolathe
An expert in public finance Gaolathe is Minister of Finance material but you wouldn’t know it if you happened upon the proceedings in progress. His personal style to be measured with a quiet voice seems misplaced in a hearing characterised by men with a propensity for volume and pace of delivery. Gaolathe has the brains to tear through any of the walls built by witnesses in this hearing but he often lets himself to be disrupted by figures with more brawn. There was a moment when he sought to ask a question about the procedure of seeking finance by the DIS and how that happens between DIS and other government departments especially when there is a “special dispensation” as Kgosi calls it. He was interrupted by Keorapetse so often that it took him minutes to find his coordinates again. Gaolathe is naturally not loud and not fast, but he is one of the PAC’s most important figures for these hearings, so if I were the chair, I would always give him the time to explore his line of questioning. At the same time if I were Ndaba, a whole President of a party, I would develop a bit more aggression to be able to tussle for airtime where nobody seems willing to give it.
Guma Moyo
The sharp tongued MP sounds like a v12 engine revving. He often takes flight but seldom allows himself to go full throttle. Whether he is shackled because Guma Moyo is now right at the heart of the new Presidency it is not clear. But when he is in full flow Guma Moyo has the intensity of thought, and the sharpness of speech to hold any witness to account. Perhaps he should do more to dominate exchanges because whenever he gets an extended few minutes to follow through with his questioning without interruption he often delivers a final punch worthy of the wait. He always has a calm demeanour while he stays attentive. He will be very useful in these exchanges.
Final thought
The PAC members do not look like they come to the hearings prepared as a team. It would help them to get briefed extensively, on legal and other matters for example before they step into the ring. They need to consider sharing notes, so that they are able to deploy themselves efficiently, where each member is utilised where he is the strongest. To do that, other MPs would have to take part in the discussion, lest it turns into a Keaorapetse, Gaolathe and Guma exchange while everyone else is just a witness.

The last two weeks of the Khama presidency was characterized by frantic backroom negotiations, as friends of the Gripen fighter jet deal fought to save it. Botswana Defence Force insiders reveal however, that the P12bn deal is comatose at best, dead at worst, writes TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA
Defence insiders say the Gripen deal may have been aborted mid-flight. At best the country’s biggest defence procurement deal is comatose, at worst it is dead, according to various sources interviewed by The Business Weekly & Review. The country’s most lucrative and controversial arms deal, the P12bn Gripen fighter jet contract ultimately needed a perfect alignment of planets to succeed. That alignment was impossible without an omnipotent hand. Instead too many circumstances shifted the planetary alignment as events tumbled along. Before friends of the deal knew it, the man who started the whole transaction was out of the State House. Now the Swedish suppliers SAAB are left with unanswered calls. Various defence sources say the new President Mokgweetsi Masisi is under pressure to abandon the project by his defence advisors, some of whom are experts in aviation. The Gripen deal, a controversial procurement from its inception two years ago, has been steadily losing altitude since late last year, when Masisi’s ascendance gained more and more impetus.
“The problem with this purchase was that ultimately it had people opposed to it in very senior positions, but they could not show their opposition to it because of the then President Khama”, says one senior insider. Within cabinet most ministers gave it tacit approval because of the sheer force of Khama’s character. However since late last year, when it became increasingly clear that Khama was taking a backseat, in order to give way to Masisi, cabinet ministers started expressing their disapproval.
Key ministers who used to keep to their own counsel, have now raised their concerns to a receptive Masisi, labelling the Gripen deal is one of the most unpopular government projects. Key opponents of the purchase, according to sources, is senior Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. This has been an open secret, with top government officials saying this view has been known at the top level, and that Khama knew of these concerns regarding the purchase and servicing expense of the military aircraft.
According to sources within Cabinet, supporters of the contract, sensed that something was amiss, when paperwork required for the transaction was not forthcoming from the Mogoditshane Barracks. Officials in favour of the transaction were left to count down the months leading up to the end of Khama’s term on April 1st, in apprehension as government bureaucracy went on a go slow.
As the sun set on the Khama term, the deal increasingly lost friends, and fence-sitters started to express their open disaffection for the controversial contract. Emboldened by the increasing delays those opposed to the purchase sought to delay it until the end of March 2018, the end of President Khama tenure
Information obtained by this publication indicates that a senior minister attempted to put pressure on Khama to fast-track the contract between SAAB and Government without success as the necessary paperwork and approvals were persistently delayed. Acting as a liaison between Khama and Commander Placid Segokgo, during the final days of the Khama term, the Minister intervened in an effort to convince BDF as to the urgent need to conclude the purchasing agreement, while accusing defence officials of deliberately dragging their feet on the deal.
According to information reaching this publication from Cabinet, it is understood that the Swedish military manufacture sought to have the deal done and dusted before Khama left office, but lost the battle, despite their frontman’s attempts. “You know towards the end of his term, the last few weeks, Khama showed reduced interest in the minor details of what was pending and what was not. He basically seemed to enjoy his time out of the office more, especially with his busy schedule of visiting outlying areas of the country. He enjoyed that more” explains a source at the Office of the President.
The pro-Gripen lobby has faced formidable opposition since the departure of Khama. Top defence officials never supported the deal form the beginning. The majority view being that other options can be pursued to refleet the Air Wing without the exorbitant cost. “ BDF experts, are of the position that the BDF can find much more financially responsible solutions to its challenges than the spending on Gripen jets” said one BDF insider.
Therefore former allies of the Khama are said to still be fighting a failing battle to save the P12bn procurement of about 8 units of the Swedish fighter jet Gripen.
According to Masisi’s inner circle, the biggest influence on his change of direction, has been former cabinet member and close confidants. Masisi counts within his inner circle people with extensive experience in aviation and defence, and whom the president trusts even at personal level. Therefore the Gripen program struggles to find traction within the new leadership. “Some of these are people with extensive knowledge of the BDF from the time it was founded to now. They know intimately the air capability and needs of the BDF and understand defence at a very high strategic level compared to the voices that held sway during Khama’s time.”
Last week respected South African defence online publication Defenceweb reported that some unnamed African country has been offered the Israel Aerospace Industries’ Kfir Block 60 fighter jet. The Middle East African defence giant is reportedly overburdened with between 12 and 14 of the upgraded fighter jets after a deal with Argentina fell through and left them with extra units. The South American country withdrew from negotiations for the fighter jet late last year, according to the publication. “Officials from that country recently visited Israel to negotiate the purchase of the upgraded fighter aircraft and other systems like different types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Kfir fighters are in service with the air forces of Sri Lanka, Ecuador and Colombia. The latter’s have been upgraded with Elta EL/M-2032 radar, Rafael Litening targeting pod, aerial refueling capability and improved cockpit displays” reports the defence outlet. Southern African defence experts suspect the country could be Botswana.